Masquerade
by LGCoffeeAddict
Summary: What if the masquerade ball wasn't just for the teenagers? Lily and Rufus find themselves dragged to the ball by their insistent children--and bump into each other. CHAPTER 7 UP
1. Chapter 1

**Masquerade**

A_ Gossip Girl_ fic by Gigi

Summary: What if the masquerade ball wasn't just for the teenagers? Lily and Rufus find themselves dragged to the ball by their insistent children--and bump into each other.

Chapter 1: Into the Fray

**A/N: So, I really don't think there are enough Gossip Girl fics out there, especially of Lily and Rufus. This is TV-centric. I have never read the books (but they're on my list!!) so please no flames about inaccuracies.**

**A/N: BTW this is set AFTER 1.18, but Lily never went through with the wedding because Bart was called away for an urgent business trip that day. The wedding is still on, but postponed until further notice.**

"Serena, please don't make me do this," Lily whined as her blonde vixen of a daughter handed her a silver mask similar to the gold on her own face.

"No, Mom," she responded, tying the mask around her mother's head. "You're going. Come on, you'll have fun."

"How can you be so sure?" Lily replied glumly, letting her blonde shoulder-length hair fall forward.

"Because, contrary to what you might believe, you're hot." That statement made Lily's head whip up to stare at her daughter in disbelief.

"You must be kidding," she sputtered.

"I almost wish I was," Serena admitted, "but even Chuck thinks so...but he does tend to look at anything with legs and boobs," she added thoughtfully.

"You really know how to comfort a woman," Lily replied dryly, adjusting her silver-tinged white dress. The dress gathered at her waist in an almost corset-like fashion and fanned out to the floor, giving her a positively royal demeanor. She had to admit, she did look amazing in that dress. "I just don't see the point in my going."

"And why not?" her daughter prodded as she brought her golden locks over her shoulder to go with her equally golden gown.

"Because no one will be interested in a woman in her late thirties."

"Ah, and that, my dear mother, is the beauty of a masquerade ball," Serena declared triumphantly. "Nobody will know who you are, so this is the perfect chance to see just how appealing you are to the opposite sex."

"Before I ponder why you are so insistent on my meeting guys, it hardly counts if the members of the opposite sex are half my age and completely drunk."

"Well, you'll at least know one guy there."

"Who? Dan? Eric?"

"Rufus." Lily did a double take.

"Rufus?! Why will he be there?"

"He doesn't want both his kids there without being there himself, especially since Jenny was about an inch away from becoming Chuck's latest victim," Serena said matter-of-factly, leaning over the vanity to apply some lip gloss. "You can hang out with him."

"So is that why you wanted me to come?"

"Why?"

"So Rufus will have a friend? Or shall I say distraction?" Serena looked over at her mother with a sheepish grin. "Sometimes I see a little too much of myself in you, Serena."

**8D**

As Lily and Serena van der Woodsen entered the Palace ballroom, the effect was immediate. Lily couldn't help but smile as heads turned upon their arrival. It was a nice feeling.

A young man with brown hair and the mask of a devil soon made his way to the two--no, just Lily. She raised her eyebrow in amusement as he bent over her hand and placed a kiss on it.

"Hello, beautiful," he greeted in a sleazy, supposedly sexy voice.

"Hello, Charles." Lily's face broke into a smile when Charles, or Chuck, straightened, stumbling in surprise.

"Ms. Van der Woodsen!" he exclaimed in a slightly higher than normal voice. "It's very nice to see you."

"And to see you," Lily chuckled. "Enjoy the rest of your night, Charles."

"See?" Serena nudged her mother. "You just got here and already you've been hit on." She winked.

"You can stop trying to prove your point now. I'm already inside the ball. It's not like I can turn around and leave now."

The two women had developed a little following as they made their way to the drinks. One man, in particular, had eyes for Lily. As she laughed with her daughter, he made his way behind her an inhaled her scent. Familiar. Like lilies.

He whispered in her ear, "You know, a woman I loved used to wear that scent."

His hushed statement startled Lily, causing her to jump and whip around to the man. He was...gorgeous. He had wavy brown hair with bangs that fell in front of his liquid brown eyes; a boyish half-smile adorned his face. Even with the black and deep red mask on, Lily could tell who he was instantly.

Rufus.

She did all she could do at the moment. She flirted, "Well, she has good taste."

"She does at that. Do you know why she liked to wear that fragrance?"

"Why?"

"Because it matched her name."

"So I guess her name was Rosemary?" she joked.

"N-no." He was confused. "Lily."

"Don't be so worried, I know it's Lily."

Rufus suddenly realized who he was talking to. The woman was glowing, her short blond hair framing her perfect face. Most importantly, the eyes that held so much pain and openness. Combined with the scent, he mentally slapped himself for not seeing it sooner. It was Lily.

"I'm sure you do," he replied, amusement in his eyes.

This was going to be an interesting night.

**8D**

Standing in the corner of the expansive ballroom, Lily's insides were twisting. What could she do? She was technically still engaged to Bart. _But admit it_, a snide voice commented in her head,_ you've never been more relieved in your life that he was called away that day_.

"Not helping," she whispered to herself.

Rufus turned to look at her, confused. "What was that?"

"Nothing...ugh, here comes another drunk kid," Lily sighed at the sight of yet another boy licking his lips at her. She never should have let Serena pick out her dress for her.

"You are quite popular, aren't you?" Rufus asked, trying to pass it off as a joke, but Lily noticed the hint of jealousy.

"Well there's only one way to get them to stop." She looked at Rufus, pleadingly. "Dance?"

Rufus tried not to get too excited. Even if she wasn't engaged, it was already awkward enough. He nodded and pulled her to the floor, drawing her flush against him.

When Lily found herself crushed against his chest she realized what a mistake she had made. This was a man who had somehow found his way back into her heart--and bed, as of a week ago--and being plastered onto him wasn't the best way to rid herself of those feelings.

"This doesn't help things a bit, does it?" Rufus whispered in her ear, his voice low and husky.

"Nope. _Definitely_ not helping." It wasn't until she opened her eyes--which she had not remembered closing--that she noticed he was talking about fending off the boys. Now they just made a whole room full of lustful teenagers jealous. "I don't think it's safe anymore."

"It's okay," he assured, tightening his grip on her. "I'll protect you."

Lily chuckled, "I meant for you. They will pounce on you the second you leave my side."

"Well I just won't leave your side then." Lily mentally slapped her forehead. Great. She had just made sure she had to spend all night with her ex (past and VERY recently) lover. Unconsciously, she drew further into him, scared of her feelings. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing..." Lily replied. She lay her head on his shoulder, thinking. Did she really want to open up another can of worms? Sure she had avoided it last week. Gossip Girl was slow enough that the photos of her kissing Rufus in the street weren't leaked until the day after the wedding and, fortunately enough, GG's credibility was shot to the point that people simply assumed they were photoshopped. Lily doubted she would be so lucky again if she allowed a repeat.

"Um, Lily?" Rufus' voice came through the haze.

"Hm?"

"I'm getting some very threatening looks from some of these guys. I'm thinking they may not all be high schoolers."

Lily opened her eyes and saw what he was talking about. Some of the men had taken off their masks, looking at her with obvious lust and glares for the man with whom she was dancing.

"I told you, it's not safe for you," she said, worried a little.

"What do you mean? It's safer for me than for you," he pointed out with obvious concern in his voice. "You know what alcohol in a man in lust can lead to. And you looking like _that_ doesn't help things at all."

"Blame Serena."

"I could blame her for a lot of things," Rufus replied ruefully.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked, pulling back a little in surprise. "What has she done?"

"Dan told me why you didn't run away with me."

Those words shocked her to the core. Did he really have to find out that she didn't leave him again because she didn't love him?

"I was faced with another choice, I guess."

"Why is it that every time you and I start to get together again, you're faced with another 'choice'?" he demanded, a little pissed by the tone of his voice.

"It wasn't a matter of strength in this, though, Rufus," she pleaded. "You have to realize that twenty years ago, I wasn't strong enough to stand up for myself, let alone provide for and live by myself."

"And now?"

"What could I do? On one hand, I'm sacrificing something for someone else. But if I didn't, I would be sacrificing the happiness of my daughter. What could I do?" she repeated. "I could lose one love of my life or the other." The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.

Rufus froze, the words echoing in his mind. _I could lose one love of my life or the other._ _I could lose one love of my life or the other._ _I could lose one love of my life or the other._

"You still love me," he choked out, shocked at the revelation.

"Keep dancing," she hissed. The men had come closer when he stopped dancing. "We don't need to start a riot."

"You still love me," Rufus said again.

"Stop saying that!"

Without a word, Rufus grabbed Lily's hand and led her quickly off the dance floor.

"Rufus, where the hell are we going?" she demanded, trying to wrest free of his vice-like grip.

"We need to talk."

Rufus led her into a private room where everything was draped in crimson cloth and low lighting. As soon as the door closed behind Lily, she was pushed up against it.

Before she knew what was going on, she felt Rufus' lips crash onto hers. Lily couldn't help herself. She succumbed to temptation and kissed him back hungrily, weaving her hands through his hair and undoing his mask in the process.

Two masks fell to the floor, as well as a few more...articles.

**A/N: Well, there's chapter one! This COULD be a one-shot, but I'd rather it not be, so please review and tell me what you think!**


	2. SoGood Talk

**Masquerade**

A_ Gossip Girl_ fic by Gigi

Summary: What if the masquerade ball wasn't just for the teenagers? Lily and Rufus find themselves dragged to the ball by their insistent children--and bump into each other

Chapter 2: So...Good Talk

**A/N: WOW. All I have to say is WOW. I'm so happy you guys enjoyed the first chapter! Hopefully you guys are just as enthusiastic with this chapter. Enjoy!**

_Two masks fell to the floor, as well as a few more...articles._

Not too long after--they never took very long, just lots of times--Lily lay on the floor at the foot of the door, stunned.

"I can't believe that just happened," she breathed.

Rufus plopped down beside her, in all his sweaty glory, panting but satisfied. "Why?"

Lily looked over at the man. "Can't you put something on?"

"Why?" he repeated. "It's not like it's not going to happen again." Lily tightened the sheet around her in response to the statement.

"Don't count on it," she admonished. "Bart already found out about us last week, and I doubt he'll be so forgiving if he finds out again."

"How did he find out?"

"My not coming home might have tipped him off," she said with a hint of irony in her voice.

"Why does it bother you so much?" Rufus queried. "It's not like he's not doing the exact same thing right now."

Lily stared at Rufus. "What do you mean?"

"I saw him a few days ago. He never left."

"What?!" she shrieked, jumping up, clutching the sheet to her body. "He never left?"

"Yeah, he was making out with some Asian teenager," he stated matter-of-factly.

"A _teenager_?"

"Well, she looked young enough to be one, anyway," Rufus said, grinning.

"Ugh, that hypocritical _bastard_!" Lily steamed and stomped her foot. "And he preaches to _me_ about leaving behind my first love!" Rufus' head snapped to look Lily in the face.

"What was that?"

Lily froze in the middle of her rant. She hadn't realized she'd said that last part out loud. As she fought to find a way to explain it, only one word was going through her mind.

_Shit_.

"N-nothing," she stammered. "It's just...nothing."

Rufus looked the woman over. She appeared--broken. Before he knew what was going on, he was holding her in his arms while she sobbed her heart out. "Sh..." he whispered. "It's okay. He won't hurt us anymore."

"Us?" she repeated, confused.

"I kind of lied before." He had her full attention now. "It wasn't some Asian chick he was with."

"Who was it?"

"It was Allison," he stated coldly. "They've been having an affair for a while, now."

"How come you never told me that?"

"I could never prove it. I knew she was seeing someone towards the tail end of our marriage, but I never knew _who_. Until two days ago." Rufus didn't know when he stopped comforting Lily and she started comforting him.

"Aw, Rufus, I'm so sorry," she said, rubbing his back soothingly. "I guess we both got screwed over, huh?"

"Speaking of which, I hope you realize we just comforted each other completely naked," Rufus chuckled. Lily looked down and saw that the sheet had fallen, neglected, on the floor, and she blushed bright red. He loved making her blush. It reminded him of the first time they'd met, when he'd said some remarkably inappropriate things just to see her face grow red over and over again.

"Well," she coughed, "thank you for making this sufficiently awkward."

"How is this awkward?" Rufus asked, smirking. "Now if I did _this_--" he grabbed Lily and pulled her into an extremely passionate kiss--"it might be. But not much, because it's way too fun to stop."

Once Lily recovered from the sudden gesture, she couldn't help but laugh. She lay in his arms, directly above his lap, and had to roll into him and clutch his chest to stabilize herself as she tried to control her giggle fits.

Rufus just watched as the blonde beauty laughed in his arms, entranced by her chime-like giggles and the way her eyes sparkled when she was genuinely happy. He loved the way her cheeks turned red and how she had the beginnings of tears in her eyes.

Lily looked up as her laughter subsided to see Rufus smiling adoringly at her. "What?"

"You're beautiful when you laugh," he responded, the love evident in his voice.

Oh, how Lily longed to kiss him again and be lost in his embrace! But, alas, she had to break the dream...again.

"We should probably be getting back to the ball. Serena and Dan are probably wondering where we are," she excused, standing up to find her gown, which had been tossed carelessly across the room in recent events. "Can you help me get this dress on?" she asked as she stepped into the gown. "I can't reach the back."

Rufus stood up and silently started doing up the buttons to her gown. "So what are we doing, here?"

"What do you mean?" Lily looked over her shoulder at the--still naked--man.

"Are we just going to be friends with benefits? A series of one-night stands? We can't keep doing this, Lily," Rufus sighed.

"I know," she breathed out, defeated. "I just...I don't know what to do. There are so many things to consider. What about Bart?"

"You're breaking up with him. He's been more unfaithful than you have. He never deserved you in the first place."

"Fine. But what about Dan and Serena?" she insisted.

"They can figure it out. We take precedence," Rufus said stubbornly.

"And why do you say that?"

"Because this has been twenty some-odd years in the making. They're not blood-related. They can work that stuff out on their own." Rufus smoothed the fabric over Lily's shoulders. She turned around, anguish rolling about in her eyes. "We will figure it out," he comforted, placing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Don't worry."

Lily couldn't help herself. She leaned and kissed him tenderly on the lips. She pulled away with tears in her eyes before she picked up her mask and walked out of the room.

Rufus wished that kiss hadn't had such a sense of finality about it--a goodbye kiss.

"No," he said to himself. "I _won't_ let it end like this. Lily!" he called after her, suddenly remembering two things.

1) He was completely naked.

2) Lily just walked back into the lion's den, complete with a hundred horny drunk boys.

_SHIT!_

**A/N: So this was just a quick chapter, 3 pages. I hope you liked it though! Keep reviewing and telling people about this story!**


	3. Death Wish

**Masquerade**

A_ Gossip Girl_ fic by Gigi

Summary: What if the masquerade ball wasn't just for the teenagers? Lily and Rufus find themselves dragged to the ball by their insistent children--and bump into each other

Chapter 3: Death Wish

**A/N: I'm just in a Rufus/Lily mood, so I guess I'll write some more haha.**

Lily placed the mask on her face as she closed the door behind her. Back to reality--a world where she had to pretend she was happy with Bart.

A tear made it's way out of her mask. Hurriedly wiping it away, she righted herself, checked her hair and started for the main ballroom when she heard a frantic "Lily!" behind her.

She forgot about the dangers of going back into the ball alone and ran. Ran away from Rufus. Away from what she really and truly wanted.

She felt a hand grab her arm and whip her around. With the speed at which she was running, she reeled around and into the hand's owner's chest. Instinctively, she knew whose chest it was, by the tender way he held her and by the slight musk emanating from him.

She broke down for the second time that night, clutching Rufus' jacket as he held her and comforted her. No words. No explanations. He just held her in his arms and let her cry. But it wasn't about Bart this time.

Right now, Bart was the last thing on her mind.

Lily was sobbing about Rufus. She would never get her second chance with him. She had finally come to terms with fate's cruelty and he...he...he was Rufus. He tore down all her walls and saw the raw Lily every single time.

Why, oh why, couldn't she stop him? She needed those walls. They were for her own protection, to keep her heart from breaking every time she saw him with another woman or he saw her with Bart.

"Mom?" Serena's voice pierced through the moment like a knife. She could tell she had interrupted something when she came in and saw her mother crying into Rufus. "Mom, what's wrong?" she asked worriedly, rushing to her side.

Rufus simply shook his head, signaling this was not something she would talk about willingly.

Serena's heart broke at the love in his eyes for her mother. It all suddenly clicked. Her mother was broken over the man hugging her. Serena was wracked with guilt. It was her fault they weren't together. She had never thought it was anything more than infatuation.

Despite this revelation, what could she do? Even with her daughter's blessing, Lily still wouldn't get to love Rufus. She had Bart to worry about. And no one broke up with a Bass.

Not without a death wish, that is.

A social death wish.

So Serena kept her silence and quietly backed out of the hallway. She'd let her mother sort out whatever was going on. Serena had interfered enough with her mother's happiness.

**8D**

Lily sat alone in a chair lining the wall of the giant ballroom, watching as skirts and capes swirled around hundreds dancing legs. She had finally gathered herself together, puzzled.

Why on Earth had she reacted so dramatically to everything tonight?

_Because you just had sex with your first love after you told Bart, your _fiancé_, you would let him go,_ that snide voice in the back of her head answered.

Much as she hated to admit it, just a week and a half earlier, she _had_ promised Bart she would let Rufus go. Just after she'd slept with him the _first_ time in twenty years...

...Well, there was that _one_ time a year after Serena and Eric's father died...but they never _ever_ mentioned that.

Wait.

Suddenly Lily's grip on the chair became white-knuckled.

_We never used protection_.

Those words rang in Lily's head.

"Oh. Shit."

"Oh, shit what?" Rufus' voice made Lily jump--again. She looked up to see he had brought her a drink.

Lily jumped on his arm, needing to hear that she was wrong. "Rufus. The night of the concert..."

"Yes? I remember that night _quite_ well," he smirked.

"Did we use a condom?" she pleaded, praying for him to say yes. His wide-eyed, horrified expression was answer enough. "Oh, my God. Oh, my God. I _cannot_ believe we didn't use protection!"

"Um, Lil? Don't scream that out," Rufus admonished. "People are starting to look over at us."

"Rufus, do you have _any_ idea how fertile you tend to be?" Lily hissed out in a fierce whisper.

"What do you mean?" he asked slowly, dreading the answer.

"Damn it, Rufus! Don't you remember how I disappeared for a month and a half when we were still hiding our relationship?" He nodded, realization dawning on his face. "I was pregnant. With your baby. My mother made me g--" Lily had to pause, the pain of the memory rushing back to her--"Shemademegetridofthebaby," she rushed out in one breath.

Rufus couldn't function, all of a sudden. He had gotten her pregnant twenty years ago. "Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded.

"I knew what my mother would do to you if she found out it was yours. I took the hit, and I told her I didn't know whose it was."

"You said you had been sleeping around?" he asked, incredulous. She nodded dejectedly. "How does that explain why you didn't tell me?"

"Rufus, don't you get it?" Lily sighed. "I wasn't let out of her sight after that! There was no way I could have told you without her finding out about you." She looked at her ex through the mask. "It was okay for me to have a death wish. It wasn't okay for me to sentence you." Rufus raised his hand to Lily's cheek, caressing her skin. "That's why I had to pretend we'd just met when I came back."

He nodded, understanding. "So, you think you might be pregnant again?" he suggested timidly. Lily flinched at the directness of the question.

"I think it's a very good possibility. We didn't use protection a week and a half ago. I'm having reactions above and beyond what are considered normal. I _know_ we didn't use protection this time, so even if it didn't happen ten days ago, we just heightened the chances."

"How long do we have to wait to find out?"

"At least four more days for the home tests. I can't go to the doctor, otherwise it will be all over the island by the time he tells me the results," she admitted, running a hand through her hair.

"It's okay...we'll get through this," Rufus reassured Lily, taking her hand away from her stomach and holding it in his hand. "As long as you don't give it away by clutching your stomach," he joked, earning a small smile from the frazzled woman.

**A/N: Haha, so what do you think? Review please! Lots and lots of reviews!!**


	4. Tension

**Masquerade**

A_ Gossip Girl_ fic by Gigi

Summary: What if the masquerade ball wasn't just for the teenagers? Lily and Rufus find themselves dragged to the ball by their insistent children--and bump into each othe

Chapter 4: Tension

**A/N: Hm, I'm not getting too many reviews on this story. I'm hoping it's because it's in a category that doesn't have any organization, pairing-wise, and not because it's bad. If it's bad, **_**please**_** tell me!**

Three days had passed since the ball. Lily only had to wait one more day to take a test, but the tension was driving her insane.

One more thing was driving her insane.

She had started throwing up on the dawn of the fourth morning, just in time for Bart to "return from his trip."

He walked into the room all cocky, like he owned the place, which, surprisingly enough, the mogul _didn't_. The Palace was one of the only hotels in the Upper East Side _not_ affiliated with Bart Bass & Co. But that's beside the point.

Summoning as much dignity as she could, Lily quickly wiped her mouth, grimacing at the vile post-upchuck taste in her mouth, and put on her stern face as she approached her fiancé.

"Lily," he greeted in what she thought was supposed to be a warm tone. His vocal inflections varied as much as his facial expressions, of which her son insisted he only had one.

She had begun to agree with Eric.

Lily moved her head to the side so his intended kiss on the lips became a peck on the cheek.

"Lily, what's wrong?" Lily didn't reply right away, but looked towards the bedroom. There, piled neatly outside of it were his bags, all packed and ready to be moved out of the capacious apartment. "What are my things doing all packed?"

"Well, I figured you might want to be more immediate to your girlfri--I mean _business_," Lily bit. She didn't even let him start to defend himself. His look of utter horror was enough to confirm the rumor. "Don't even start, Bartholomew Bass. You were seen multiple times. What I don't understand is how you could possibly preach to _me_ about leaving behind something I loved when I was young while _you_ were having an affair with that _something's _ex-wife!"

"Lily, I--" he tried to sneak in.

"No. Don't you dare, Bart. You left our _wedding_ to have a last fling with Allison. What the hell was that about?" Lily demanded.

"Lily!" Bart grabbed her by her shoulders to catch her attention. It worked. "Allison's pregnant."

_Pregnant_. All words, all emotions, all coherent thoughts flew out of Lily's head. What an ironic twist of fate, huh?

Speaking of ironic twists of fate, she was feeling another ironic twist coming on. Lily feigned shock--didn't take much feigning--and clapped a hand to her mouth. "I'm going to be sick," she declared before racing to the toilet for the second time that morning.

At least Bart was considerate enough to hold her hair out of her face.

A few minutes after she had finished throwing up, they remained on the cold tiled floor of the immaculate bathroom. Finally, Bart spoke up. "How did you know about Allison?"

"Serena dragged me to the Masquerade Friday night to keep her boyfriend's father company. We got to talking and he told me he'd seen you roaming around Brooklyn with her. He'd snapped a picture and I recognized Allison. He said you'd been having an affair since before Christmas, when they were still married." Okay so it wasn't completely true. He'd never taken a picture. She never said Rufus was her boyfriend's father. He had no reason to call her a hypocrite in this sense.

"How did he know how long it had been going on?" Bart asked, suddenly suspicious. This boyfriend's father sounded extremely in touch with the goings-on in the Humphrey marriage system.

Luckily, a lifetime of Upper East Side made lying ridiculously easy for Lily. "He'd seen you since then and she still had a wedding ring on her finger."

Bart had no excuse for that. There was no way he could turn this on her. He couldn't destroy her. It was completely his fault and she had picture proof to back it up. _Damn _the woman!

Finally, he sighed in acquiescence and began moving his luggage out of the apartment.

During his last trip, Lily stopped him just before he left and placed the almost rudely large diamond ring that had found home on her ring finger into his palm. They were over.

**8D**

The phone was ringing. It had been four days.

Rufus lunged for the phone before either of his children could get to it. "Hello?" he whispered.

"I need you to pick up a test on your way here," Lily's voice came through the receiver.

"Why can't you pick it up?"

"Because I can't spark another Gossip Girl blog without merit," she explained, "especially since it went public that Bart and I called off the wedding."

"You called off the wedding?" Rufus asked, suddenly excited as Lily's laughter filled his ears.

"Down, boy," she chuckled. "Can you pick up a test?"

"Yeah, I'll see you in half an hour."

As promised, Rufus Humphrey appeared on the other side of Lily van der Woodsen's door in exactly thirty minutes, holding a brown paper bag.

"Great, Rufus. Way to not be conspicuous," Lily said ironically.

"Yes, because I'm just that moronic?" he shot back playfully, pulling out two subs. "I thought you might want some lunch."

"Oh," she laughed. "Thanks. So what stick did you get for me to pee on?" He pulled it out his inside jacket pocket. E.P.T. Good choice. "You asked the lady at the counter, didn't you?"

"Well, I'm a guy."

The two kept up the witty banter until Lily disappeared into the bathroom to do the test. After setting it on the bathroom counter (on a paper towel, of course) she and Rufus tried to enjoy their subs. Keyword: tried.

The tension was just too great for witty banter. Suddenly something popped into Lily's head. "Uh, Rufus?" He looked up from his sandwich, a bell pepper hanging from his lips. "I have something I should probably tell you." He removed the pepper and gave her his full attention. "It's about Allison...she's pregnant."

Rufus' face turned stony. "It's Bart's, isn't it?" Lily nodded. "Why am I not surprised?"

"It's like she and I have some link. We _have_ to be pregnant at the same time or something," Lily laughed.

"That is true..."

Neither of them said anything else for a while, the tension too much to break. The only thing that was able to break it? The sound of a bell going off.

Time was up.

Lily and Rufus looked each other in the eye, taking the other's hands in their own.

"You ready?" Rufus nodded. Lily took a deep breath and walked into the bathroom.

"Here goes nothing."

**A/N: I'm so evil. I know that. I revel in my evilness. But aren't you glad I've been pretty constant with my chapter lengths? They're all at least 3 pages long, which means 1000+ words each chapter. Go me! Now REVIEW and tell me how evil I really am.**


	5. That Little Stick

**Masquerade**

A_ Gossip Girl_ fic by Gigi

Summary: What if the masquerade ball wasn't just for the teenagers? Lily and Rufus find themselves dragged to the ball by their insistent children--and bump into each other

Chapter 5: That Little Stick

**A/N: Haha, I have to admit: Even though I'm not getting as many reviews as I'm used to, I almost don't mind. Those who review are reviewing every time and they're always so sweet! Thank you guys. I love you **

_"Here goes nothing."_

Lily crept up on that little stick resting on the bathroom counter, getting more nervous by the second. Right before she got to where she could see if the test was blue or pink, she stopped and turned.

"Rufus," she pleaded. He didn't need anymore than that to rush to her side and take hold of her hand.

"We can do this," Rufus assured. She nodded and closed her eyes as she reached for the test.

Lily peeked at the test through slitted eyes and her breath came out in one swoop, but she still felt like she couldn't breathe.

_Pink_.

"Lily?" Rufus asked as the woman's face rapidly paled. "Lily, what is it? What does pink mean?"

"Positive."

That wasn't her voice. Someone else was in the apartment. As one, Lily and Rufus slowly turned to face the speaker.

Serena.

Her face was stony yet resigned at the same time. She just stood there in the doorway to the bathroom. However, through all that disappointment in her eyes flickered a small glimmer of hope--and sadness.

She hadn't told her mother, but it broke her heart to see her so unhappy with Bart. She felt awful for keeping Rufus and her apart. Serena had kept her mother from the love of her life for her own selfish reasons, and the guilt from that decision devoured her almost every day.

"So this is why you've been acting so weird lately?" Serena's voice sounded hollow even to her own ears. "When were you going to tell me?"

Lily's face crumpled a little more at each question. "Once I was sure," she squeaked.

"When would you finally be sure? How long would it take for you to finally admit it to yourself that you're pregnant? When you started showing?" Serena couldn't help the words falling out of her mouth. She tried to stop them but it seemed to make it worse. "What about Ba--"

"Enough, Serena!" Rufus snapped, cutting off Serena's arraignment of her mother. "You have no right to treat your mother so horribly. She's been carrying this burden for days, along with a few others."

"Like what?"

"Like the fact that Bart has been cheating on her since the beginning with my wife. Ex-wife, now I guess," he told her in a reserved tone.

Serena was shell-shocked. No wonder Lily had been so upset when they got back from the ball. She must have found out then. Had she misinterpreted why Lily had been crying? Suddenly what Dan had said had thrice the impact.

"Where's Dan?" Lily asked as if she knew what was going through her daughter's mind.

"He had to console his mother. Allison's apparently a wreck when she's pregnant," Serena answered, looking for any sign of surprise on the adults' faces. "You knew she was pregnant." It wasn't a question.

"Bart told me this morning and I told him to leave," Lily declared, gathering herself up piece by piece. The test rested hung by her side in her hand, forgotten. She was Lily van der Woodsen now. The epitome of poise.

"And he did?" Serena confirmed, thoroughly confused. He wasn't angry? He didn't vow to completely destroy her social standing? Something didn't fit. "Just like that?"

"I kind of told him your boyfriend's dad had mentioned seeing him with 'some woman' and that he took a picture of it. I guess it made it seem like I had solid proof I could use against him if he tried anything on me," Lily admitted.

"Why?" Serena and Rufus asked simultaneously.

"Because I couldn't tell him I'd learned it from Rufus, who two weeks ago I promised to leave behind for my marriage!" Lily cried out desperately.

"You _what_?" the two screeched, in unison once again.

"He'd found out about the night of the concert. He thought I left the rehearsal dinner to see you and that i was using Serena as an excuse to leave."

"Why that--" Serena snarled, but she couldn't find the words to express her outrage.

"Either way," Rufus put in, "what are we going to do about this baby?" Lily's face paled again. Had she really forgotten she was pregnant? Or was it just the thought of the social roller coaster she was in for?

"Oh, God. What are people going to think?" she wailed, suddenly distressed. Lily stopped with a horrified look on her face. "What will my _mother_ say about this?"

Serena and Rufus froze. What _would_ Cece say about the pregnancy? Not only was it out of wedlock, but it was with _Rufus_. The man Cece had made her daughter give up for her inheritance.

Serena's head started working again shortly after and a wicked smile came across her face. "There's a way to spin it to make Bart look like the ass."

Lily and Rufus turned slowly to the youngest, hope and curiosity on their faces.

**A/N: I know, I know, it's a little shorter, but at least you know what the results are! REVIEW!!**

Chapter 6:

_Gossip Girl here:_

_Looks like two new Upper East Siders are forthcoming. I guess you could say only one was coming, since they're both half-bloods. _

_Bart left the wedding--_his _wedding--to have a last fling with Ex-Mrs. Lonely Boy before tying the knot. Guess what he found out? Ex-Mrs. Lonely Boy might just become Little Miss Love Child with the Bass patriarch._

_His fiancé, Mama van der Woodsen, was so heartbroken that she ran to the ever-present Mr. Lonely Boy. Looks like another love child is on the way._

_Who'd have thought that the _it_ couple of the season would end up with two mini-Humphrey-UES babies? Too bad they're not with each other._

_You know you love me,_

_xoxo_

_Gossip Girl._


	6. Wicked Smiles and Harsh Words

**Masquerade**

A_ Gossip Girl_ fic by Gigi

Summary: What if the masquerade ball wasn't just for the teenagers? Lily and Rufus find themselves dragged to the ball by their insistent children--and bump into each other

Chapter 6: Wicked Smiles and Harsh Words

**A/N: So I hope you guys liked my little teaser at the end of last chapter. I'm so sorry it's taken a while to update. I've been in Italy and I had to start my job the day after I got back. I'm getting this out as soon as is physically possible. You guys are always so sweet in your reviews. Keep those coming!**

Serena still had that wicked smile on her face as she laid out her plan. It required a little setting up--meaning mock pictures.

Thank God cell phones didn't attach dates to their pictures.

Lily, Rufus, and Serena soon filed out of the apartment and made their way across the bridge to Brooklyn, where Lily soon found a bench.

Serena snapped a picture on her phone of her mother sitting hunched over on the bench, looking morose. She snapped a few more with Rufus sitting with her, comforting her. They really were quite good actors, because passersby kept stopping to ask if Lily was okay.

After this, the trio stalked Bart until he finally met with Allison. Serena wanted to kiss whoever came up with the camera phone.

Once they were done, Serena snapped her phone shut triumphantly. "Step one: complete," she declared.

**8D**

_Gossip Girl here:_

_Looks like two new Upper East Siders are forthcoming. I guess you could say only one was coming, since they're both half-bloods. _

_Bart left the wedding--_his _wedding--to have a last fling with Ex-Mrs. Lonely Boy before tying the knot. Guess what he found out? Ex-Mrs. Lonely Boy might just become Little Miss Love Child with the Bass patriarch._

_His fiancée, Mama van der Woodsen, was so heartbroken that she ran to the ever-present Mr. Lonely Boy. Looks like another love child is on the way._

_Don't believe me? How lucky that I have proof!_

_Who'd have thought that the _it_ couple of the season would end up with two mini-Humphrey-UES babies? Too bad they're not with each other._

_You know you love me,_

_xo xo_

_Gossip Girl._

"Gossip Girl really outdid herself this time," Serena squealed. "She's never sent out so quickly after getting a tip!"

"Must have been all the juicy gossip," Lily laughed, sitting comfortably on the couch with Rufus. "She couldn't wait a full hour after you sent the tip to tell all of Manhattan of the goings-on in our lives."

The other two chuckled at the thought of countless people's jaws dropping as they gazed at their little cell phone screens.

"How do you think Bart and Allison will take the news?" Rufus asked after the laughter had subsided, all seriousness now.

"Well, we should be finding out in," Lily glanced at her watch, "5...4...3...2...--"

"RUFUS! LILY! OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW!" Allison's voice screeched on the other side of the door.

"Right on time," Lily giggled.

Rufus sighed. "This should be _fun_," he said, irony dripping from the words as he accompanied Lily to answer the door.

As soon as the door was opened, Allison almost plowed the couple down in her rage, with Bart following calmly in her path of destruction.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" the angry blonde demanded, waving a cell phone in Lily's face. Lily didn't have to look at the screen to know it would display Gossip Girl's latest tip.

"Allison, I know you're upset," Lily began calmly. "I understand this is not the way you wanted your pregnancy announced. Trust me, it wasn't the way I wanted mine announced either, but--"

"UPSET?" Allison burst, interrupting Lily. "You think I'm only UPSET that all of Manhattan knows I'm pregnant with your fiancé's baby and that you're pregnant with my ex-husband's?!"

Serena caught Lily's eye and nodded. That was Lily's cue. Sighing, she feigned exhaustion. "This is too much for me right now. I need some air." With that, she swept out of the room, down the stairs, and out into the courtyard of The Palace.

Outside the building, and in plain sight of countless witnesses anxious to send pictures to Gossip Girl, Allison and Bart continued their rampage on Lily.

"You didn't tell me you were pregnant when I told you about Allison," Bart hissed, standing behind his mistress. Together the team looked quite intimidating, ganging up on poor Lily. At least that was how it was supposed to look to the onlookers.

"What does that matter?" Lily shot back. "Either way, you were unfaithful to me our entire relationship. I was unfaithful to you ONCE, when it became clear to me that you were unhappy with just me." So that was bending the truth a bit. This was more for the spectators than really for valid arguments. Anyway, he had no way of countering that.

"Why did you do this?" Allison snapped. With her hair whipping in the wind and her eyes flashing, she was quite the woman in that old adage, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

"Do what?" Lily asked, puzzled.

"Tell all of Manhattan! Nobody had to know we were pregnant!"

"Because nobody would notice our sudden weight gain over nine months? Because they wouldn't notice when we suddenly _lost_ that weight and had a baby to take care of?" Lily responded. "_That's_ realistic. Anyway, I wasn't the one who sent the tip. I was just as surprised as you were."

From the corner of her eye, Lily saw a brunette snap a picture of the showdown on her cell phone with an excited glint in her eye. _Step two, complete_, she thought.

"Look, the point is, it's out. I can't do anything about it, you can't do anything about it, so let's just drop it, okay?" she offered. Unfortunately, Rufus chose that time to show up behind her, which only added fuel to the fire.

Surprisingly, it was Bart who burst out, "You told me you were going to leave him behind!"

Lily looked as if she had been slapped. Hadn't they just gone over this? "Why should I," she began, seething inside, "when _you_ weren't doing the same?" _It's like the pot calling the kettle black!_ she screamed inside her head.

"Whore," Bart retorted before gathering Allison and leaving behind a shell-shocked Lily. Before she knew what was happening, she had crumpled--_right there in the middle of the courtyard_--and was sobbing into Rufus.

Suddenly, all cell phones were out, taking picture after picture of the woman crying into the man with the guilty expression on his face.

_Twenty years ago..._

_"Rufus," Lily said hesitantly, avoiding eye contact and fidgeting under his intense stare, "I don't think we should keep doing this."_

_"What do you mean?" he prodded as he went behind his lady love and hugged her from the back. He whispered into her ear in a husky voice, "You know you love it."_

_Lily ignored the shivers his hints sent through her body. She could think about their amazing s--_STOP THINKING ABOUT THAT, _she yelled at herself. She _had_ to focus. "I don't."_

_Those two words were possibly the hardest two words of her life._

_Rufus stiffened as soon as the words escaped her mouth. "Why not?" he tried to tease in the vain hope that this was just some cruel joke. "I know _I_ love hearing you scream my name over and ove--" Lily turned in his arms so quickly that he was too surprised to respond to her passionate kiss at first. But, late as he was, respond he did._

_As the two lay in bed, Rufus smiled in relief at his girlfriend, completely unaware that she was mentally beating herself up for succumbing to her feelings for him when she had to break it off. When she was being _forced_ to break it off. "See? I knew you didn't mean it," he smirked, but what she said in reply made that smirk slide off his face like butter on a skillet._

_"I did."_

_Rufus looked on in horror and disbelief as Lily started to get out of bed. In a last desperate attempt, he lunged for her wrist, forcing her to turn towards him._

_"Why?" he pleaded. "Is it another guy?"_

_His love's eyes filled with tears as she nodded._

_"Who?" he growled, suddenly livid._

_"His name's Andrew," she managed to gulp out._

_"Andrew as in van der Woodsen?" Again, Lily nodded. "How long?"_

_"Long enough for our parents to set up an engagement."_

_Oh, how Lily wished that was a lie, even if she'd never met the guy. Unable to look at his fallen face anymore, she wrenched her hand free of Rufus' and resumed getting dressed._

_It wasn't until she was almost out the door when she heard his last words to her for twenty years._

_Rufus hated that Lily had had such a hold on his heart that even such a blatant lie on her part ripped it to shreds and he did the only thing he could think of. They say the best defense is a good offense._

_"Whore."_

**A/N: So, what do you think? Was it worth the two week wait? Hopefully it was, otherwise I need therapy haha. Alright you know the drill. Review!**


	7. Mommy Dearest

**Masquerade**

A_ Gossip Girl_ fic by Gigi

Summary: What if the masquerade ball wasn't just for the teenagers? Lily and Rufus find themselves dragged to the ball by their insistent children--and bump into each other.

Chapter 7: Mommy Dearest

**A/N: So so sorry for taking so long to update! I've been really busy, and now the only time I have to write is on the weekends. Well, I hope you still love the story.**

_Greetings, Upper East Siders,_

_Gossip Girl here with a juicy new development of the Humphrey-UES saga. Turns out my last update wasn't received all too well with the Ex-Mrs. Lonely Boy. _

_Spotted: Two blondes--one, a classy Upper East Sider and the other a local artist--duking it out in front of the Palace. Bartholomew even threw in a few punches against his almost wife. _

_Ex-Mrs. Lonely Boy walked away with Bass, leaving behind Lily van der Woodsen sobbing into Mr. Lonely Boy's shirt. What went down to break Lily's cool demeanor?_

_You know you love me,_

_xo xo_

_Gossip Girl_

"Well, the plan worked," Lily declared half-heartedly, tossing the Sidekick back to her daughter. She fiddled with her beige silk robe, seemingly unable to decide whether or not to close it over her pitch black night dress.

"Mom," Serena started, her heart aching for her mother. "I can't help but think you were a little _too_ convincing in the courtyard." Lily looked at the other blonde. "Something Bart said really hurt you didn't it?"

"No," Rufus denied, coming in from the kitchen. "Something _I_ said really hurt her." That guilty expression never left his face as he looked at Lily.

"What do you mean? You didn't say anything," Serena said, confused.

"Something I said twenty years ago. Bart repeated what I said, and, at least to me, it reminded me of the worst night of my life."

Serena looked to her mother for confirmation. Lily's eyes filled with unshed tears as she nodded her head. Her fingers finally rested on her robe as she got up off the couch. "I think," she started, her voice catching, "that I should go to bed. I have to deal with _her_ tomorrow."

"How are you going to tell dear old _mummy_?" Rufus asked sarcastically.

Lily sighed, "I invited her to tea tomorrow morning at eleven."

"And then?" Serena urged.

"And then...I have no idea." Her shoulders slumped in exhaustion as she trudged into her bedroom.

**8D**

Morning dawned, but no birds chirped, singing in the new day. No, the alarm blared and the new day was flushed down the toilet along with the rest of Lily's breakfast.

As Serena helped her mother get ready for tea with "Mommy dearest," as Rufus liked to put it, she couldn't help but try to wipe the somber look off Lily's face. "At least you know you'll be hungry for tea," she joked, somewhat halfheartedly.

"Oh, yes, because nothing revs up an appetite like a good twenty minutes with your face in the toilet," Lily shot back. "Sorry."

"What's wrong, Mom?" Serena couldn't help but ask. "You look like you're on your death march."

"You know what? In some ways, I feel like I am."

Neither of them spoke another word until the door to the suite opened and in walked--Eric.

"Geez," he commented. "It feels like death row in here. Should I be playing Taps on my trumpet?"

"That's what I said," Serena mused, hugging her brother and pulling him out of the way of the door. "Grandma's coming."

Almost as if on cue, a polite knock came from the other side of the door. Lily straightened her dress--royal blue with gold embroidery--and glided to the door in her most stately manner.

"Hello, Mother," she greeted as she opened the door to reveal Cece Rhodes in all her blue-blooded glory.

"Lillian, darling," Cece started in her slight British accent. Serena always wondered if that was for show. "I have been hearing the strangest things, lately."

"Oh?" Lily looked at Serena queasily. "What, Mother?"

"Oh, Lillian," Cece sighed. "You know how impolite it is to carry on a conversation standing in the foyer. Let us get situated, and then I shall continue."

Lily always wondered how her mother could always assume control of situations, even when the control was not hers to take. It was a gift of Cece's...or a curse on her daughter. "Yes, Mother."

"Now, I keep getting calls congratulating me," Cece insinuated.

Lily went into full-on panic mode. "Oh, really?" she asked, forcing her hands still in her lap. "For what?"

"For becoming a grandmother." Cece had that shrewd look in her eyes, almost as if she were trying to sniff the truth out of Lily. "I thought I already was a grandmother, Lillian, or was I mistaken?"

"You are, indeed, a grandmother, but...you...are...well," Lily gulped. Suddenly her speech skills went down the toilet to join her breakfast. "You'regonnabecomeoneagain."

"What did you say, dear?" The aged woman leaned forward, striving to hear her daughter's confession. "You know my hearing isn't as good as it used to be."

"I'm...pregnant, Mother," Lily breathed out, waiting for the explosion.

"It's..._his_, isn't it?" her mother hissed. Lily didn't answer, but that seemed to be enough to confirm Cece's suspicions. "I should have known. What did Mr. Bass have to say about this?"

"He had no right to say anything about it. He's gotten Rufus' ex-_wife_ pregnant, as well," Lily but, unable to hide her resentment.

"The artist?" That really _had_ surprised the grandmother. "You both really do have very similar tastes in men."

"Yes, it seems we do," Lily deadpanned.

"Is it too late to say this is Bart's baby and that is Rufus'?" Cece chirped, eyes suddenly full of hope.

She couldn't _believe_ her mother! She's going to have another grandchild and she _still_ only thinks about how this will look to everyone else! "Yes, Mother, it's far too late!" she cried in disgust. "All of Manhattan knows we both are pregnant!"

"You don't know that," she insisted. "I'm sure we can still fix this."

"Fine, you don't believe me?" Lily gestured to her daughter to hand her the cell phone. "Read these." She flipped to the two Gossip Girl updates and showed them to her mother.

"Well, then we'll have to do some serious damage control, now won't we?" She just _didn't get it!_

"No, Mother. _We_ are not doing anything," Lily stated. Why was she getting so upset? Damn hormones. "I just wanted you to know from me, so there you go. You may finish your tea and go back home. I'm afraid I have some things to attend to."

"What things?"

"Cleaning up the mess Bart made of the wedding. Those things. Goodbye, Mother," Lily finished before she stalked out of the suite, leaving a stunned family behind her.

Eric looked at his older sister. "What was that about?"

**A/N: Okay so this took a LOT longer to write than I expected, and it was really short. I'm sorry but do you like it? Review please!**


End file.
